My almost 1000km 14 Octavia RS Review

[Dzl_Dubba]

Intro

Dubbed "Daskoda Fanning" by my mates, I picked her up two weeks ago. Candy White RS Wagon, 162TSI DSG with Black Pack, Auto Tailgate and Alarm. My previous ride was a 94 VR Commodore so it's like me jumping from a Cesna to a F16 Falcon. I do have some previous ecperiene with MkV Jetta 2.0TDI and my brothers Mk6 GTI, so they're what I'll be comparing it to.

Engine

It's a peach of an engine. Compared to the previous EA888, it's quiter, smoother and more powerful. In my opinion it feels like a 8/10ths of a stage 1 GTI and pulls effortlessly. In D, she shifts just over 2k, riding the torque and is plenty for smooth acceleration from a stop and I'm usually plenty in front of the other traffic. The torque feels diesel like but smoother and available over a wider rev range. Punch it in S and I find myself getting silly very quickly so its rarely used. Based on my travels my average fuel consumption would be around 7L/100km and maybe less if I keep the revs and speed down, though i never bought the car with super awesome mileage in mind. Future plans include tune, intake and turbo-back exhaust, which will definitely transform the car to another level.

Driving

It's a joy to drive and feels smaller than its actual size. I haven't had much experience with highly acclaimed handling hot hatches such as MINIs and Renault Clios but for me its enough. My bro's GTI has after-market LCA and it feels pretty much the same in the bends. The RS rides over bumps well and is fairly quiet if you can find a nice bit of road to drive on. Not rattles or squeaks to be heard and the engine is barely audible when plodding along. Visibility is great for a new car nowadays which are often difficult to see due to thick pillars and stupid styling. No worse than a Golf me-thinks.

The sound generator is sometimes annoying and I may get it removed, but for now I'll leave it be. Due to being such a sorted car I find myself driving at higher than usual speeds and don't realise it until I look down at the speedo. Driving the commodore it shaked and rattled at 80km where as the RS isn't in the slightest fussed. The 340mm brakes combined with Bridgestone Potenza tyres are awesome and make quick work of slowing down.

Interior and Exterior

The cockpit is a nice place to be. The seats are super comfy and I have plenty of headroom and there's heaps of legroom for passengers behind. The flat bottom steering wheel is nice to hold and the buttons easy to access. Dials are easy to read and the MDI is easy to navigate and nice on the eyes. Boot is massive and I haven't tested it to its full capacity yet. A fishing trip will help me gauge this. Auto-tailgate is awesome, though its a pity it cannot be closed from the button inside the cabin. maybe VCDS will rectify this.

The Columbus Nav is great and one reason why I went with the RS over the GTI. No lag when switching between menus. Clear and easy to navigate. The stock system is okay, though I would've preferred the Canton, but it was cancelled from my order. Bluetooth pairing is seamless and by the time I have my seat belt on, my phone is connected and good to go. Calling is clear and navigating the contacts a breeze.

The love the clean look of the exterior. No over the top styling and whatnot and I do get alot of looks and "nice car" comments from people everywhere I go. I like how the rear-most side windows have the heating element so it means clear vision all the time. EDIT: These are the antennas for the radio not heating elements doh'

The xenons are awesome and provide plenty of light for my driving. I especially like the little procedure of levelling up and down and side to side upon start up. I also like how the respective fog light turns on when making a slow speed turn in a car park and helps with lighting up the extra area.

Overall

I love the car, I just want to drive it and drive it. Apologies if i make anyone jealous though those waiting for theirs to come in won't be disappointed. I've probably forgotten to mention something so i may edit the post at some time.

[Benmac]

Great review. You are right about the brakes, amusingly the fronts are from the GTI performance pack so larger than the base GTI. I am pretty impressed with the Canton system. Tried some FLAC files and they sounded good once I tweaked it,


"courtesy of iPhone using Tapatalk"

[GTR27]

The elements in the rearmost side windows are antennas (your FM/am antenna), not heating elements.

[MJKooLio]

Last time I sat in an RS the other week in showroom, boot open close button was a few buttons to the left of the RS Mode button in center console.... Don't the MY15 have them? (Flat bottom wheel) I sure hope mine does!!! It better! Surprized you don't in this Wagen?

[Dzl_Dubba]

Last time I sat in an RS the other week in showroom, boot open close button was a few buttons to the left of the RS Mode button in center console.... Don't the MY15 have them? (Flat bottom wheel) I sure hope mine does!!! It better! Surprized you don't in this Wagen?

I have that button and I'm pretty sure you can't close using it or i could be mistaken lol. Usually i open the boot with the key and close it with the tailgate button. I'll give it a try again next time to confirm. EDIT: Manual says you can only close using the buttons on tailgate and i confirmed on Briskoda that it can be enabled using VCDS.

[MJKooLio]

And den?

[Dzl_Dubba]

The elements in the rearmost side windows are antennas (your FM/am antenna), not heating elements.

Really? Haha oh well. Good to know

And den?

No And den

[GTR27]

Yeah the shark fin on the roof is GPS.

[Dzl_Dubba]

Knew about the GPS antenna, I'll edit my post to make me look less of a fool haha. Broke 1000km this morning too

[GTR27]

Only reason I know is reading a random thread on briskoda and someone has a link to a page from the manual showing all the different configs for aerials. Actually about 3-4 different combos depending on model and options.